Beneath
by seghen
Summary: There's always more than meets the eye. With destiny fulfilled, how many surprises can life hold?
1. Chapter 1

**A little weird, hope you like!**

"Here you go, girl." Harry crooned, offering a sort of biscuit treat forward to his loyal owl. She visibly winced, reluctantly opening her beak, as though it were a medial task that she need not suffer. He smiled down at her, quickly attaching an article to her ankle and rubbing her back kindly.

She expanded her mildly impressive wing span, lifting her feet off of the countertop and pumping powerfully before her speckled white figure fluttered out the nearest window and to the west. Harry turned the instant she had vacated the premises, not bothering to look after her. After over ten years of surface it was unnecessary to doubt the quality of her service, she was the most capable creature he had ever known.

Ginny stood in the darkness of the doorway, her thin figure leaning against the structure in a '20's noir sort of femme fatale way that he had long since gotten over. "Who were you messaging?" She questioned, still not emerging from the shadows.

He approached her grimly, the uncomfortableness suddenly increasing tenfold. There had been something, he was certain of it. It was something intangible, something that no one could grasp apart from the two parties experiencing it. The feeling was unlike any other, it could not be touched like blood, seen like the sky of felt like the wind. It was more of a gentle inclination, a constant whisper elevating them above all else. It was fire that burned everyone but them, consuming the world in blue flame...and it had never quite burnt out.

Oh, it would have been far easier if it had fizzled, dissolved into disinterest, faded into the starry night like the sun enveloped by darkness. It was an ever fixed mark, as Shakespeare had once said, and Harry had never stopped feeling it, and he was certain that she had not, either. But it was the extenuating circumstances that nagged and nipped, that changed his mind, the same thing that tempted her. She liked the fire, she _wanted _to burn.

"Ron just a congratulation on his approaching nuptials." He had returned with as much indifference as he could manage. Despite the color of their hair and the content of their blood, they were nothing like his parents, they loved each other but hurt each other in turn. Not a week passed after school was over that one of them wasn't crying and the other stewing. It had lasted far longer than it should have, elongated by two pregnancy scares and several captures. This seemed to brighten his and her regard once they were reunited, seemed to make them think that they could withstand the test of time.

"Oh, yes. I hope that he _remembered _to invite Hermione." It was the sort of thing that would slip his mind.

"I'm sure that Molly made sure of that." He said with a lingering smile, knowing that neither the bride nor groom would exactly wish for her attendance.

Ginny nodded, finally taking a step forward and revealing herself to him. "Mum wouldn't allow that, after all they are old friends." This was their tango, their dance, neither of them would relate their knowledge without the other doing so first.

It always seemed as though it was constantly Ginny who won this. "Old friends? I think that is overshadowed by the fact that they were together for two years." A shadow of a smug grin slowly crawled onto her face.

"Yes, and I'm sure that his spite has positively nothing to do with the fact that she married his arch-rival." He feigned ignorance, as though this had slipped his mind. They both knew that this was untrue.

"And my nemesis." Naturally, Harry's temper had allowed him to mend fences far before Ron's, and that had _nothing _to do with the fact that he was still in love with her of course.

With the flick of her wand, two flute glasses appeared in her hand and she offered one to Harry and took the other for herself.

"I'll drink to that."

The letter was dispatched within a half hour, and Hedwig knew that she was not expected for at least the rest of the night and took a quick detour. She was a spectacular creature, perfect in nearly every way, not age-worn at all. She was positively gorgeous, a specimen without fault.

She landed gracefully, her talons wrapping around the wood of the nearest white picket fence before she relaxed, her mind fixed on a single object. It took mere seconds for the transformation to take place before she changed from a marvelous bird into one of the most breathtaking women that anyone could ever lay eyes upon.

Her cheeks glowed ethereally and she hid her years expertly, not a single line existed that would give away her true age. She fell to the dewy grass, raising her unpolished hand in the air in a way reminiscent to a wing. She was nude, every curve concealed by the hedges she lay near. She stretched out, using her vocals for the first time in weeks, reveling in the humanity that suddenly consumed her.

Hedwig's hair was fine and thin, a platinum blond that looked to be straight from a box, though her eyebrows and lashes refuted this. A robe lay discarded beneath the foliage that surrounded her, twitching in a bird-like manner. She came to her feet, stepping out of the lawn that held her, blinking stupidly.

"Time to live," She murmured, her feet pressing onto the concrete, the warmth of the recently set sun absorbing onto her skin, warming her in a way it never could for her owl alter-ego. And with this she shed her half-life for the evening, feeling the freedom like a pleasant summer breeze. If only for a few hours, she was human again.

**It's kind of weird, but I just got the thought recently. Don't worry, there will definitely be character development. if there's an able beta out there, im interested!**


	2. Chapter 2

**If you read this, PLEASE review it, I just want to know what everyone thinks!**

It was as though it was meant to be. Five minutes after seven _everyone _had arrived, including Hedwig, everyone apart from the bride and groom and the ex-girlfriend and her new husband. Everyone was eerily silent, Fred and George included. Ginny sat adjacent to her ex, eyes flickering to his every few minutes or so.

Even the bristling Mrs. Weasley was incapable of incurring any sort of merrymaking, every attempt was thwarted. Bill and Fleur sat side by side, his head resting on her shoulder. Despite the several years of marriage their lovey-dovey behavior had not toned down whatsoever.

The food was at the ready, and Tonks had been assigned the _very _important task of handing out the napkins, seeing as it was one of the few jobs she could take on that would not endanger people or belongings. She and Remus had what one might call an 'extended' engagement, but there was no doubt in Harry's mind that they had every intention of going through with the marriage.

The patio door slid open slowly but surely, and it was a matter of seconds before a flash of red hair could be spotted, followed by a streak of brown. Madeline held Ron's hand tightly, nearly clasping it, as though she feared separation. The two of them were oddly formal, something that no one had expected from any of Ron's relationships, especially after Lavender.

Madeline was a pretty girl two years Ron's senior with eyes like amethyst and a coquette smile that encouraged her fiance. She was a proper young lady, having been shipped off to Beauxbatons at a young age, despite the fact that she was of Irish heritage. Fleur had introduced the two whilst the courtship betwixt Hermione and Ron was still continuing. Ron was the same man, more or less, though now he seemed more reserved, grown up. She did not rile him up and they did not having blazing rows that led to days of silence, the two of them were, dare I say it? Perfect together, one extremity balancing out the other.

Madeline's face broke out into a tense and coy smile as she curtsied gently, a gesture that Hermione would have undoubtedly mocked with fury. Molly embraced her briefly and the meaningless chatter started up almost immediately, no one was willing to admit that they were on tenterhooks concerning Hermione's eventual appearance.

She was another story, a long-winded one at that. She was under the newly instated Ministry's employ, sent all across the globe to reach out to different wizarding communities in hopes of reinstating some sort of unity. Draco Malfoy was traveling with acquaintances throughout the countryside and they met up at a conference. It was a hasty courtship, one that took the whole of a month before they eloped in Hungary not even a year after her and Ron's untimely break up.

The pair had taken to globe-trotting, both of them admitted travel fanatics. Despite her social arrangement she succeeded in recruiting two parliament leaders to meet with the Minister of Magic, something that led to her eventual promotion. Ron slapped Harry on the back loudly before pulling out the seat for his lady and taking a sip of pumpkin juice. Harry cast him a glance, knowing perfectly well that he was more nervous than the rest of them. He received a great deal of grief after his and Hermione's breakup, Molly seemed set on having her for a daughter-in-law and was most sorely disappointed to be proved wrong. While both she and her husband reconciled to Ron's fiance Harry doubted that they could ever establish the same sort of trust.

It was just so like Malfoy and unlike Hermione to enter with a _bang_! They apparated loudly onto the lawn, not bother to use the door as they stumbled forward, Hermione wrestling a man nearly two times her breadth and one foot taller than her as Malfoy waved his wand silently, splicing through the air. "Stick!" She gasped as the man began to throttle her and her husband obeyed, levitating the a nearby branch before plunging it into his heart. As he exploded into dust it was as though he had never been.

Everyone at the table sat in shock, though both Ron and Madeline stared purposefully away. Malfoy leant over, pulling his wife to her feet and muttering a spell that cleaned her off as she did the same for him, his hair slicking back promptly. "Hello, everyone!" She said brightly, as though this was not the least bit uncomfortable. "Sorry for all that, Mr. Mires was _opposed _to our stay in Romania and was quite vocal in that matter." She said, massaging her throat as her husband swiftly guided her to the table. "Everything looks delicious!" She exclaimed, conjuring a chair hurriedly.

Harry was the only one who acknowledged his presence and nodded while the rest of the family and others looked away for a moment. "How are you all doing? I'm sorry I haven't been able to stop by often, though I'm quite sure that you're not." She glared pointedly at Ron before turning to Molly and smiling.

"It has been quite busy, hasn't it, dear?" Arthur questioned pleasantly and his wife forced a look of unassuming congeniality before agreeing curtly.

"Gred, Forge, how goes the business?" Ginny questioned amicably, observing the shrewish expression that flew across her brothers' face at the mention.

"Splendidly." They replied simultaneously, taking advantage of the whole 'twin' cliche expertly.

"Sell a lot of Peruvian Instant Darkness powder lately? I remember that was a big seller." Ron commented for the first time, his eyes going immediately to Malfoy who blushed considerably. Pretending to drop his fork Ron ducked under the table after a moment, disgusted to see his _enemy's _hand perched on his ex-girlfriend's knee, and she squeezed it as well. The daggers he had been staring had sharpened.

Madeline shoveled forkfuls of food into her mouth, hoping to use this as an excuse to remain silent while Bill simply made moon-eyes at his wife and Fred and George amused themselves, as usual. Charlie's absence was work-related and it seemed up to Harry, Ginny and Tonks to keep the conversation stimulated.

"Harry, how goes your training?" The pink-headed klutz questioned from across the table, accidently knocking over her firewhiskey. Harry smiled vaguely, relieved that _someone _was making an effort.

"It's alright, I suppose. I reckon I'd be doing better if it weren't for...distractions." The Second Coming was more than a distraction, but it had shaved precious years off of Harry's Auror training. Remus and Mad-Eye, both excused, seemed most certain that he would be a shoo-in for the youngest Minister of Magic ever recorded, and even Harry found it tempting.

"What about you, Ginerva? Taking full advantage of your days off from the shop?" Harry supposed that the accounting gene from the Weasley juniors' uncle must have rubbed off on at least three of the seven siblings, seeing as Ginny had made her way in the business as well, opening up a store and taking after her elder brothers. Harry could not help being proud.

"I _love _your store, I stopped by about a fortnight ago, but you were out." Hermione commented happily.

_"Purposefully,"_ Ron coughed, and the entire table was silent. It was going to be a _long _dinner.

**REVIEW, please, good or bad, i dont care.**


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